The April 25th edition of The 700 Club started with a segment on abortion and Planned Parenthood. Beginning at the 1:46 mark of the episode, the segment noted President Obama's refusal to cut Title X funding for Planned Parenthood. Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony list painted Planned Parenthood as a profit-driven abortion provider, while the narrator suggested that the organization's dominant activity is abortion (failing to note that abortions make up only a small percentage of their services). In short, The 700 Club lobbed the usual attacks at Planned Parenthood.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Stop worshipping that blue heron!
What is it with you Earth Day types!?

Today, April 22nd, is Earth Day. Established by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970, Earth Day is now an international event devoted to environmental issues. Earth Day events abound, intended to raise consciousness about our relationship with the natural world.

Predictably, some Religious Right figures have voiced their displeasure with Earth Day and environmentalism, which they brand as allegedly anti-Christian. As we celebrate Earth Day, we should also be aware of its detractors and the myths circulating about environmentalism.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

You were worshipping this bird,
weren't you? Knock it off.
I mean it.

First, at his Vision Forum blog, Doug Phillips posted a commentary entitled "A Christian Response to Earth Day: Understanding the 4 Lies of the Radical Environmental Movement." Phillips insists that many modern people are "earth worshippers" and "sanitized pantheists" in their alleged religious devotion to the natural world. Pantheism, he claims, is not only at the core of the green movement, but has also seeped into entertainment, advertising, politics, and schools. Earth Day, supposedly, is a holy day in honor of the "earth God". In other worlds, Phillips associates environmentalism with pagan Earth worship and pantheism, assuming that it is antithetical to Christianity. The fact that most environmentalists are not pagans, and that plenty of green Christians and ecotheologians have reconciled faith and environmental awareness seems to have escaped him. To boot, he assumes that Earth worship is automatically negative, which many modern-day neo-pagans would disagree with!

Phillips accuses the environmental movement of promoting four lies: (1) Earth is our mother, (2) human life holds no greater intrinsic value than animal life, (3) environmental harm is the greatest crisis facing humanity, and (4) environmental problems will lead to an end of life on Earth unless public policy and private practices change. In doing so, Phillips makes sweeping assumptions about the environmental movement that do not necessary reflect reality. For instance, not all environmentalists would agree with statement #2, which is reflective of biocentric ethics (i.e., deep ecology) but not of anthropocentric or virtue ethics approaches to the environment.

Awakening 2011, held at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA on April 8-9, drew attention not only because of homophobic comments made by attendees, but also because of conference speakers stances on education and reproductive issues.

As mentioned earlier, the conference held several workshops with anti-abortion and anti-Planned Parenthood content. (See freedomfederation[dot]org/content/awakening_2011_schedule)

Anti-abortion advocate Lila Rose, founder of LiveAction, spoke at Awakening 2011. According to the American Independent, Rose urged students to join the anti-abortion movement, which she called "the winning side" and "the side of life." The article also states that Rose accused Planned Parenthood of allegedly skirting mandatory reporting laws. When asked why LiveAction uses manufactured video evidence on its website, Rose asked if they should use real victims of abuse.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Man, I'm really off my game. My busy schedule kept me from blogging about Awakening 2011 until this weekend, so I offer my regrets for this delayed post. -- Ahab

On April 8-9, Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA hosted Awakening 2011, an annual gathering of conservatives sponsored by the Freedom Federation. Featuring speakers such as Newt Gingrich, Lila Rose, Matt Barber, Matt Staver, and Rick Scarborough, Awakening 2011 was a veritable who's who of Religious Right figures. The titles of some of its workshops provide a taste of the conference's tone. (See freedomfederation[dot]org/content/awakening_2011_schedule)

Right Wing Watch recently highlighted a new documentary by Colin Gunn entitled IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America. Due for release on June 28th, IndoctriNation follows Gunn (a homeschooling father), his wife, and seven children on a bus trip across the U.S. as they examine American public education. The project was financed by several Christian homeschool organizations, including Christian Liberty Academy School System and Exodus Mandate, according to Mother Jones and the film's website.

IndoctriNation is not the first Gunn film to promote right-wing ideas. As Mother Jones reminds readers, Colin Gunn and his brother Euan were the filmmakers behind The Monstrous Regiment of Women, an anti-feminist film that won an award at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. (See www[dot]monstrousregiment[dot]com) The Gunn brothers also released a film entitled Shaky Town, which alleges that Christians are under attack from homosexuals in San Fransisco. (See www[dot]shakytown[dot]com)

The latest trailer for the film offers a taste of the movie's content, which revolves around the allegedly un-Christian messages being taught to children in public schools. Messages about how schools are supposedly failing and how Christians have lost the culture wars portray public schools in a negative light.

At the 0:48 mark, viewers briefly see a scene from the documentary It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School, in which a teacher asks her students to write about what comes to mind when they hear "gay" or "lesbian" -- presumably shown to evoke horror in viewers assumed to be anti-LGBT. A statistic alleging that 88% of Christian children deny their faith by graduation flashes on the screen, amidst sound bites from fundamentalist Christian commentators. For example, at the 0:16 mark, Charles Stanley, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, claims that parents are sending their children into "a pagan society" when they send them to school. At the 0:58 mark, Erwin Lutzer of Moody Church laments that "they are stealing our children." At the 1:40 mark, Brian Rohrbough, former president of American Right to Life who has linked school shootings to abortion and the teaching of evolution, spoke of the "dangers" that threaten to destroy children. In short, the IndoctriNation trailer depicts public schools as ominous, anti-Christian environments.

Watch the full trailer below. (Click here if you're having trouble viewing the video.)

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Friday, April 15th was the National Day of Silence, an annual event sponsored by GLSEN in which students take a day-long vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT bullying. Given the pervasive anti-LGBT bullying reported in schools, as well as numerous high-profile cases of LGBT youth suicides linked to bullying, the Day of Silence is more relevant than ever.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

I recently watched the documentary 12th and Delaware, a 2010 film by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady of Loki Films, the filmmakers behind Jesus Camp. In the wake of Operation Rescue and the Maryland Coalition for Life setting up a "pro-life center" across from Dr. LeRoy Carhart's late-term abortion clinic in Germantown, MD, a review of 12th and Delaware seems timely.

Shot in Fort Pierce, Florida, 12th and Delaware focuses on A Woman's World, a reproductive health center that provides abortions, and Pregnancy Care Center, an anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center (CPC) right across the street. Here, at the corner of S. 12th Street and Delaware Avenue, an ongoing drama plays out between the abortion clinic, the anti-abortion CPC, and a cluster of passionate anti-abortion protesters.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

According to the Washington Post, Operation Rescue and the Maryland Coalition for Life have rented office space in Germantown, MD, across from a clinic where Dr. LeRoy Carhart performs late-term abortions. The anti-abortion website Kick Carhart Out of Maryland is gleeful about this development, given its resistance to Dr. Carhart ever since he began performing procedures in Germantown.

The Maryland Coalition for Life's website describes the new space as a resource and referral center for both women who are considering abortion and for women who have already undergone abortion. The Washington Post article quotes Operation President president Troy Newman describing the new center as a place where pregnant women can find friendship and assistance. The Germantown Patch reports that a local physician will be providing free ultrasounds to "abortion-vulnerable women" at the office.

The NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland blog does not believe that the new center's intentions are noble. In an April 1st post, NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland described the center as a fake clinic and warned readers about its anticipated tactics.

"Operation Rescue has tried this tactic in the past, opening up a fake pregnancy clinic across from Dr. Tiller’s Wichita Kansas clinic. The fake clinic operates exactly as a Crisis Pregnancy center would, with the intent to misinform, manipulate, and mislead women from making their own reproductive choices."

Operation Rescue and the Maryland Coalition for Life are not referring to this office as a "crisis pregnancy center," but rather as a "pro-life center."* Since the facility is anti-abortion and will reportedly offer resources, referrals, and ultrasounds to pregnant women, I'm confused about what distinguishes it from a crisis pregnancy center.

I am deeply concerned about this development, given that some crisis pregnancy centers near abortion clinics have been accused of misinforming women about their pregnancy options. The National Abortion Federation, NARAL, NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland, Legal Momentum, the Guttmacher Institute, and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform have written about the misinformative tactics of some crisis pregnancy centers in trying to prevent female clients from seeking abortions. The hard-hitting documentary 12th and Delawaredemonstrates how one crisis pregnancy center in Florida used manipulative tactics to goad women out of procuring abortions at a nearby abortion clinic. Whether "crisis pregnancy center" or "pro-life center" is the correct term for this new center, I worry about the implications for women who want to make informed reproductive decisions in Germantown.

As this blog reported earlier (see here and here), several New Apostolic Reformation figures were scheduled to speak at the Social Transformation Conference at Harvard University on April 1-2. Controversy erupted over past statements from several speakers -- including Lance Wallnau, Os Hillman, and Pat Francis -- demonizing homosexuality, Islam, and witchcraft. Additionally, several speakers embrace Seven Mountains theology, which urges Christians to take dominion over major spheres of society.

Harvard administration has at least acknowledged criticism of the Social Transformation Conference, which was reportedly organized and facilitated by students. In an online statement, the Harvard Extension Student Association stressed that it does not endorse the views of any student group, adding that students and student clubs are welcome to engage in an open and free exchange of ideas. According to a March 31st article in the Harvard Crimson, the Harvard Extension Service and Leadership Society said that the speakers assured them they have not and would not make hateful statements. In a March 31st commentary at Truth Wins Out, however, Wayne Besen condemned such words as disingenuous.

This is outrageous and totally unacceptable. It is the equivalent of hosting David Duke on campus, but prohibiting him from talking about race. If these anti-everything bigots are going to stand on the soap box, they ought to have the courage to express their radical views — and Harvard should encourage them to do so. If they believe they are superior and have designs on taking over the world by expelling lists of “demonic” people — they ought to express this viewpoint without reservation.

It is infinitely more harmful to have these theocratic “Seven Mountains Movement” presenters sanitize their militancy and madness for public consumption. Sweeping the rougher edges under the carpet will allow these speakers to make the disingenuous claim that are not as extreme as opponents said they were. And rest assured, there will be gullible students and faculty on the left who attend this event and also conclude that this group is not a dangerous threat to liberty and freedom.

Truth Wins Out and Join the Impact Massachusetts hosted a protest at the Social Transformation Conference on Saturday, April 2nd. According to Truth Wins Out, approximately fifty demonstrators protested at Harvard, holding signs criticizing homophobia and calling for love. Wayne Besen, Ann Coleman of Join the Impact, Sue Hyde of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and Rev. Kapya Kaoma of Zambia spoke at the demonstration, lambasting the speakers' homophobia and support for theocracy.